KADUNA, Nigeria, April 26 (Reuters) - Nigerian criminals
have killed two more student captives abducted from a northern
university last week, said a state official on Monday, bringing
the total number of executed hostages to five.
On Tuesday, armed men stormed Greenfield University in
Kaduna state, killing one person and abducting an unknown number
of students, the latest in a series of kidnappings at
educational institutes that are mostly carried out for ransoms.
"Security agencies have just reported to the Kaduna State
Government the recovery of two more dead bodies of Greenfield
University students, killed by armed bandits today," said Samuel
Aruwan, Kaduna's commissioner for its state ministry of internal
security and home affairs.
A university spokesman did not immediately respond to calls
and messages seeking comment.
Armed groups have repeatedly struck northern Nigerian
schools and universities since December, abducting more than 700
students for ransom.
The government and security forces have largely been unable
to stop the attacks as they struggle to contain worsening
violence and criminality across the West African country.